Problem
Dialogic Communication and Thought Leadership: Twitter Use by Public Relations Agencies in the United States by Thelen et al, (2021) is a well-researched article analyzing content strategies that PR agencies implemented. The research scrutinizes the relationship between the execution of dialogic principles and levels of public engagement while emphasizing thought leadership and the strategies used by agencies to pass and advance their ideas. The researchers identified a literacy gap in the strategies that PR agencies use to pass their thought leadership practices and conducted research to fill that gap. This study paid particular attention to the use of Twitter to promote thought leadership and dialogic communication strategies.
The researchers collected content from 117 Twitter profiles of PR agencies based in the US, and had appeared in the 2017 Global Top 250 PR Agencies list from the Holmes Report and classified it into two data sets: Twitter profiles of the companies (n=112) and tweets on each company profile (n=1120), for analysis. The content was coded as 1, 2, or 3 depending on the either, interactivity, vividness, and/or theme of the tweets that were being measured. The researchers' decision to code the content made it easier to analyze the content and understand the results. The results showed that the content regarding thought leadership garnered fewer Likes (M=2.25, SD=2.529) while the content without thought leadership garnered more Likes (M=3.08, SD=5.049). From the results, it is evident that Twitter users do not appreciate thought leadership content from PR agencies. This works negatively for the agencies because the goal of posting leadership thought-oriented content, which is to create a two-way communication process, is unmet. Sharing links to websites and blogs has been found to yield more success in thought leadership. This is good news for PR agencies because they can be sure of positive results once they maximize blogs and websites. I agree with the findings that PR agencies are using Twitter more as a broadcasting tool than as a dialogic platform between PR agencies and their public. The study showed that PR agencies only used 15.5% of dialogic communication capacity. This shows that they have the capability to go further and utilize more capacity, but are not doing so. However, despite agencies desiring to create a dialogic loop, the two-way communication process is still unachieved.
While I disagree with the allegation that Tweets with hyperlinks receive fewer Likes because they are viewed as requiring more effort, especially by intellectual dwarfs, the authors cite several studies such as Liu et al, (2017), which reinforce the allegations. Overall, the study reveals that regardless of the strategy used by PR agencies, their level of interaction with the public on Twitter is always slow. This shows that despite the potential for PR agencies to use Twitter to interact with the public, they are not utilizing it fully. It is disheartening to find that just a small percentage of the capacity is being utilized.
Answer at least two of the following questions after reading and understanding the article. Please include at least one quote from the original in each question
i. Does the article give a strategic direction for PR agencies to strategically communicate and advance thought leadership? Why? Or why not?
ii. The study has shown that the use of Twitter by PR agencies to promote thought leadership has a negative effect on the intended goal. What is the intended goal? Do you think this is enough reason for them to abandon the use of Twitter in its entirety? Why? Why not?
iii. This study focused majorly on Twitter. Which other gaps do you think could still be explored in regard to thought leadership and social media? Why?